Haohmaru. He has faced many dangers in his time; demons and other monsters being forced into the world. And he has fought back against them, with all that he was, he and his allies, defending the world in order to make it thrive, prevailed and stood fast the way it was now. However, there was always the fear that the same ancient evils that he combated in the past would one day rise again in the future. And that is when he made the decision that brought him and others he fought alongside with to this era, in the hopes that they may defend the world yet again from sinister forces.

As of right now, Haohmaru was walking down a desolate road in the currently corrupted city of Niigata. Having been separated from his allies after the incident that occurred at the Big Swan Stadium, he was out on his own, hoping to find anybody he could still call his ally. But so far, he's only found trouble, with the corrupted punks trying to ambush him every which way he turned. With minimal force, he was able to neutralize the minor threat they were, for he could sense that there was still good and innocence inside of them. Without a way to disperse the corrupted energy that had taken them over, he was forced to leave them to their own anguish, unconscious on the ground. And he hoped that this fate was yet to be bestowed upon his allies.

Haohmaru:"Nakoruru, Darli. I pray that you are safe."

He continued on, but had no way of telling where he was going. But that is when he stopped himself, feeling a familiar presence of...pure evil. The very same evil he vanquished eons ago. A dark blast of corrupted energy was coming at him from behind, but at bullet speed, Haohmaru unsheathed his blade and deflected the attack with ease. But then, an evil laugh could be heard echoing all around him.

?:"The cold steel of the fool who dared to kill me. Just as I remember..."

And that is when he met face-to-face with the demon witch herself.

Haohmaru:"Mizuki Rashoujin."

Mizuki:"Hm, hm, hm, hm. It would seem that you have not lost your touch, warrior."

Haohmaru:"And for once, I'd hoped that you'd stay dead."

Mizuki:"And I wished the same of you, Samurai. It turns out that in this era, a great battle took place between its world's heroes and the spirit of Wei Kamu. Mammoth amounts of energy were released, reviving the souls of those lost in combat. Even those from ages past, such as myself. And once I was resurrected, I knew the path forward. Though, to be honest, I am quite surprised to see you here...you were expecting me."

Haohmaru:"For once, I had hoped that Nakoruru was wrong in her prediction. But I have kept my blade sharp, honed my senses and strength. I am more prepared to face again."

There was a smile on Mizuki's face as she gestured for the Wandering Fencer to advance on her. But as Haohmaru did so, his sword was met with another familiar blade. The jagged-sawed edge of a great cleaver-like blade ground against Fugudoku as Haohmaru pushed himself away to meet with who was interfering with his destiny. Unfortunately, his worst fears had been realized; his eyes widened by the sight of his new opponent. A woman with brown skin, hair in braids, tattoos of a star and an anchor on her shoulders. It was Darli Dagger, but she was no longer wearing the same attire she's know for. Instead, she was wearing a tight leather swashbuckler vest that showed off her cleavage, tight pants with leather boots, and while she still had the same assortment of belts around her waist, her weapon, Liberitalia, now had a goat's skull with crosswed swords inked on the side of the blade, same with her sash and bandanna. The ink she wore before was now black, with a few new tattoos that symbolized whose side she now fought for.

Haohmaru didn't want to feel wavered, but the sight of his friend looking at him with corrupted eyes and an evil face forced him to hold her ground against her.

Haohmaru:"Darli...it's me, Haohmaru!"

Darli Dagger:"Oh, I know it's you. And I can't wait for you to join us, for as part of a crew like this, the seas will rage in all our might."

Mizuki:"Did you think me unprepared, fool? While you were sharpening your skills, I learned a lot more. Gained allies. Just imagine my delight in realizing that controlling your dear friends would not only gain us power but would also be the key to your demise."

Haohmaru:"'Us'? You mean you have-"

Mizuki:"Allied with those responsible for this chaos, yes. And now, the endgame...!"

At the snap of her fingers, Mizuki unleashed the punkified Darli Dagger upon Haohmaru, who was forced to go on the defense, not wanting to hurt his friend. But Darli was more feral in her attacks now, even using her cleaver more quickly than before. He could barely dodge any of her attacks, not to mention barely keep his grip firm on his katana with how much strength she was amplifying with every swing. Darli was a ferocious shark, stopping at nothing to chomp down on her prey. Haohmaru still had hopes that he might be able to get through to her, as while he held his ground and dared not to retaliate.

Haohmaru:"Darli, you can fight this! You're stronger than the darkness that tries to bind you!"

Mizuki:"My contributors may say otherwise. She is a newly born, chaos-thriving misfit who will help to see this world darkened."

Haohmaru:"...If my words do not affect her, then I have no choice than to beat the darkness out of here."

And with that, Haohmaru finally decided to fight back, slashing and swinging his sword, and was now meeting Darli with more evenly matched prowess. But this may have been what Mizuki was waiting for. As the more Haohmaru fought, the more stamina he burned, and the exposure to the corrupted energy made sure of it. All she had to do was remain patient, have the Samurai expend his energy fighting her little minion, and let this fight be a signal to more corrupt punks coming their way. Pretty soon, Haohmaru found himself fighting not only one of his friends but a whole horde of people who have been corrupted by the darkness that has taken over this city. Being forced to hold back, the Wandering Fencer soon found himself overrun and soon to be quickly overpowered. Mizuki was enjoying the sight of the Samurai practically falling over himself in this situation and would want nothing more than to see him ripped apart by all the little savages she had surrounding him.

The fight was finished, with the corrupted Darli Dagger slashing her former friend in the back, leaving a bloody gash as he tried to bring himself up. Despite how tired and hurt he was, Haohmaru still held his ground, even when Fugudoku shook in his grip as he faced the many foes that looked at him with snarling contempt. It was then that Haohmaru began to realize how outmatched he was in this situation. He could've taken Darli easily, but the combined force and corrupted energy of all the punks that joined in on the battle was too much, even for a samurai.

Darli Dagger:"It's over, Haohmaru! Time to welcome you into the crew!"

Haohmaru:"(groans)"

Mizuki:"You fought valiantly in the past but in this timeline...the world is mine to command. You will live to serve me...or die with your world."

The Ronin Vagabond was not planning on serving any demon, as he may not be able to fight now, he did plan to live to fight another day. Taking out his sake jug, he pointed his sword to the ground, having the tip grind and bring out sparks, as if he's ready to ignite something.

Haohmaru:"Not today."

Throwing his jug to the ground, the alcohol burst into flames the moment it came in contact with the sparks his sword were bringing up, allowing him to cast forth a flaming hurricane that made the punks back off. But they were crazy enough to try and jump through the flames and grab hold of Haohmaru...only to find he had vanished. Darli Dagger slammed her cleaver to the ground in frustration, and Mizuki was not looking any bit amused by this unfortunate outcome. But she had a feeling that he won't get far.

Darli Dagger:"Let's go hunt him down! Finish him off!"

Mizuki:"Try and have patience. Where we will go, we're sure to find him. That girl from Kamui Kotan who hindered my progress centuries ago. Once we deal with both of them, then this world will be dark forever."

The witch had plans of her own, and as long as the two dark rockers continue to be useful, bringing in all this corruption with every soul to turn to their cause, then she will have enough power to unleash her dark God and make this world into the demonic paradise that it's already starting to be as she saw the darkness continue to envelop this city in the form of this cloud of demonic energy.


Back to Kyo and the rest of the survivors, they were walking back to the city, taking an older path from Port Town to Niigata so they wouldn't easily get spotted. Once they reach downtown, however, they'll have to stand and fight if the worst comes to worse. Nakoruru had explained to them the reason why she, Darli Dagger and Haohmaru had traveled to this time, fearing that more than one darkness would've come back to life.

Shun'ei:"Shouldn't we be, like, heading away from the city? Away from any chance of us getting corrupted?"

Kyo:"That does sound like a good idea, and if you wanna go for it, then go for it. The rest of us, we need to check out the energy admission."

Chizuru:"According to Nakoruru, the amplification of the corrupted power coming from the two evil musicians, is coming from the same evil that she and her allies had faced from the past, now returned to our present to complete the goals it had before."

Blue Mary:"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've heard all day. How do we deal with it?"

Nakoruru:"We need to find my allies. Only then, do we stand a chance."

?:"(familiar, seductive voice) That might easier said than done..."

That is when they all turned their heads to see that coming down another path were the three Hakkesshu, the CYS Band. And they weren't alone, since it seemed that Yashiro was carrying an unconscious person over his shoulder. Some of the survivors took defensive stances after seeing the three, but Chris and Shermie held their hands up in some way to show that they meant no harm.

Shermie:"We're not here to fight. That'd be a waste of time."

Chizuru:"You'll forgive us if we're a little on edge at the moment. What do you want?"

Chris:"We talked it over, and...we found it necessary to try and work together.

Yashiro:"Our interests have seemed to align with a common enemy we share. And one that wants our powers."

Kyo:"They're after you too?"

Shermie:"Our powers protect us from their influence. They want us captured so we'd be nothing but an expendable energy source to them."

Chris:"And we don't plan on dying that way. So we figured teaming up would be the best-case scenario."

Yashiro:"You might as well consider us your...reinforcements."

And that is when Terry noticed who Yashiro was carrying. Billy Kane, and he looked worse for wears.

Terry:"Is that...?

Yashiro:"(looks towards Billy) Oh, right."

And then he drops the former bodyguard to the ground, and that was enough to get him to walk up. Billy looked weirded out and confused, not where he was or what the heck happened to him. But, when he set his sights on Joe Higashi amongst the crowd of survivors, he was filled with rage and grabbed a tree branch to use a makeshift weapon.

Billy:"(points to Joe) YOU...YOU!"

Joe:"Huh?!"

Billy:"(starts marching over to Joe) You lousy, good for nothing, sorry, little-"

Before a fight can occur between the two with Billy ready to slam the branch against the Muay Tai fighter's head, Terry catches it in time, confronting the crazed Billy himself.

Terry:"What are you doing, Kane?"

Billy:"(points to Joe) That sonofabitch! He's the reason why Lily was there, at the stadium! She was one of the first to get corrupted by those freaks, and now, I'm wanting to payback!"

Joe:"What?! I didn't know she was there!"

Billy:"Bullshit! I'm gonna kill you!"

Yuri:"Woah, woah, Billy! Calm down! It wasn't Joe's fault! Lily came on her own!"

And that was enough for the crazed stick-wielding fighting to calm down and drop the tree branch.

Billy:"Wha...?"

Yuri:"Hinako and some of the other girls were the ones who invited Lily, and she wanted to go along. It wasn't Joe's fault."

Joe:"I swear, I didn't know she was there."

With that revealed to them, Billy sat back down and looked like he was contemplating everything he knew. And that is when Kyo turned to the Hakkesshus..

Kyo:"Why did you bring him?"

Shermie:"Because he might be of use to you. We saw him get shot by a corruptive beam, and much to our surprise, he didn't turn."

Kyo:"What?"

Blue Mary:"Really?"

Terry:"Just like..Mai?"

All eyes were then turning from Mai, who was as confused as Billy as he looked up at everyone.

Yashiro:"We believe that some fighters may have some sort of immunity due to...certain interests we all share."

Mai:"Do you even know what those interests are?"

Chris:"To be honest...we were gonna ask you that."

Athena:"Chances are that common interest might just be music. You're a rock band and Mai is a fan of rock n' roll."

Mai:"Hey. A girl's gotta have taste."

Kensou:"So...people who are into heavy metal rock music have an immunity to the corruption because it too comes from the same music?"

Athena:"Until we can confirm it, it's just a working theory."

Kyo:"That question is still in mind then...and at least we have a few more allies now."

Shingo:"Kyo, with all due respect, you're really gonna trust these guys?! You know what they're capable of."

Kyo:"I am. But as the wise man said "better the devil you know than the devil you don't". And just so it's clear, I do not trust them, and we will take them down at first sign of treachery."

Chizuru:"Well said. But for now, we must keep going. (pulls out a radio) Commander Heidern had just messaged me a rendezvous point."

Everyone looks at Chizuru in disbelief. She was confused about what they were staring at.

Chizuru:"What?"

Joe:"You had a radio this whole time?!"

Chizuru:"Of course. All the judges at the stadium had one on them. It helped with audio problems."

Billy:"Wait...all the judges?"


Meanwhile, the corrupted Geese Howard was with Kanato and Hibiki, having his own radio in hand since he was a judge at the concert. They managed to listen in on Heidern's communication and now had a place set for an ambush.


Realizing that they may have been compromised, the survivors had to move fast as they headed back into the main city. They stayed as close as they could, making sure not to separate, lest they be overrun in no time. However, as they found themselves coming to a crossroads, they slowed down to notice that the streets were starting to be littered with the bodies of punks. They were motionless on the ground, and some of them even had broken bones, missing teeth, or were even laying in puddles of their own blood. As if things could not get any more horrifying for the survivors, it was Kyo who recognized the handiwork of this killing spree.

Kyo:"Nail markings and scorch marks..."

Yuki:"What does it mean, Kyo?"

Shingo:"Wait, you don't think..."

Kyo:"There's only one person who can do this kind of damage. One..."

Ahead in the road was Iori Yagami, who was fighting more savagely than ever. Exposure to the corrupted energy was bringing out his darker power that was making him fight without remorse, without holding back as he hit every incoming punk with a fatal blow that forced them to draw their last breath. As the survivors stopped before him as they ran to see what was going on, Yagami's rampage was instantly halted when he felt a familiar presence near him. The very same being he swore to kill himself, even if it meant traveling to hell and back just to get him. With a struggling punk in his grasp, the unhinged Yagami slowly turned his head to face Kyo and the others.

Iori:"Kusanagi...(crushes punk's neck)...one of us dies today."

Kyo:"We do not have time for this, Yagami! Stand down! We have to meet up with Commander Heidern!"

Iori:"You are going nowhere! We're setting this right now!"

Chizuru:"Heidern is circling the city in search of us. We're going to have to neutralize the Yagami if we're to make the Rendezvous point."

Shermie:"Heavy exposure to the corrupted energy is putting him through a Riot of Blood. We can help cancel that out, but we need to have him standing in one place."

Yashiro:"So try not to die while you hold him down."

Shingo:"Gee. Thanks for the vote of confidence, guys."

Terry:"Let's do this!"

And with that, did the fights run at the crazed Yagami, who managed to land the first attack with his Ge-Shiki attacks that managed to get the crowd to back off. His main focus was on Kyo, who held his own against the rioting Iori with his own fighting style. Even as he wasn't in the right state of mind at the moment, Iori seemed to match Kyo step-for-step, but Kyo didn't want this fight to go on any longer than necessary, continuously getting Iori to back off of him so that his allies may be able to join in on the fight as well, in the hopes that they can stun Yagami with everything they got. But the Flame of the End was not making it any easier for himself or the others, since they couldn't hold a candle to match the power that he possessed. Shingo, Shun'ei and Terry were pratically swatted away like flies, but not without Terry managed to land a few hits himself. Chizuru was able to hold her own fairly well; Blue Mary and Kula though? Not so much. Chris even attempted to head into the battle himself, despite Shermie and Yashiro's warnings, and this wound up nearly getting his leg broken as Yagami kicked him away and had him roll back to his fellow band members.'

Chris:"(straining) Okay...he is ridiculously strong."

Yashiro:"Kusanagi will not last long against Yagami in this state. And we can't cancel the Orochi blood riot if Yagami isn't stunned."

Fortunately, they still had two psychics with them who had been exposed to their corrupted energy. Athena and Kensou's powers were connected to the energy that was slowly getting to Iori, and had a feeling that they had more control over that energy than they realized.

Athena:"Assist me, Kensou! We must extract the dark energy!"

Kensou:"Right! ...How are we gonna do that?"

Athena:"Just do what I do!"

Then the two psychics concentrated on their mental abilities and focused on Iori, and he could feel himself losing energy as Kensou and Athena concentrated on extracting the demonic power that was at odds with his Orochi blood. The CYS saw this and realized their opportunity was before them.

Shermie:"Impressive. But we must move now. Yashiro!"

Yashiro:"Got it!"

And with the two, Hakkesshus using their own powers, were they able to pull Iori out of the Riot of Blood, canceling it all together and leaving the Yagami confused by what he was doing.

Iori:"What is...what has happened? (turns to Kyo) Kusanagi? How did-"

Not taking any chances, Kyo kicked Iori in the face and knocked him to the floor out cold.

Kyo:"That wasn't too bad. But we wasted enough."

Terry walks over and picks up the unconscious Iori, hoisting him up over his shoulder. But a lot of the survivors weren't really sure about bring Iori along with.

Shun'ei:"We're seriously going to take him with us?"

Kyo:"We have to. Every one has already been exposed. The longer we stay here, the more we get corrupted, some sooner than others. We must get moving."

Yuri:"And fast! Look!"

It would seem that the worst did come to worst, as many punks were starting to come their way, the two twisted rockers among them as well, ramping up for another corrupted guitar solo. There was too many for them to take on, and they were already exhausted. But Kyo's cousins knew what to do if the others were continue fighting.

Souji:"Kyo, take the others and go. We'll hold off the horde."

Kyo:"What?! No! You don't have to! We can still fight!"

Aoi:"It's either some of us, or all of us, cousin. Try and have faith that we'll make it through this."

Chizuru:"They're right, Kyo. Which is why I will also hold them off."

Shingo:"What?! But Chizuru, we need you!"

Chizuru:"And I'll be there when it counts. Trust me."

Nakoruru:"I hate to say it, but she is telling the truth. We must go, now!"

None of them enjoyed the idea of gaining new allies just to lose a few more. But here they were, running for their lives as the three stayed back to hold off the punks. Every last one of the survivors was exhausted up to this point, and couldn't take any more fighting until they recovered. But it didn't seem like fate was giving them much a choice as a few more punks came out of nowhere and ambushed them, forcing them to tiredly take a stance against the freaks.

Punk:"We got you now! Prepare to get-"

But, before he could finish, a foot came at his head and knocked him down. Then, the other punks were taken down quickly by unsuspecting fighters coming out of the shadows, being knocked out as the warriors made themselves known to the other survivors, Terry having recognized their leader right away.

Terry:"Rock?"

Rock:"Hey, Terry. Good to see ya."

Terry:"Likewise. Thanks for the save."

He could also see that among them were Najd, Nelson, and the punkified Zarina and Bandeiras, as well as the mysterious Miruka. The rest of the group was a little surprised to see that punks had saved them but figured that they must've been able to keep their minds intact. Though, nobody was certain who the woman beside Rock was.

Rock:"This is Miruka. She may have answers to solving this crisis of ours."

Miruka:"Yes, but we must go now. Your commander Heidern is waiting."

Kyo:"...(nods) Lead the way..."